Italy: Gruppo VéGé market share increases sixfold over decade
Retail cooperative Gruppo VéGé achieved a 7.8% market share at the end of 2021, which means that the company's share has grown sixfold over the past decade. At its annual convention in Paris, the group also announced that consumer turnover for the 2021 financial year reached €11.95bln, up by 5.9% compared to 2020.
Source: esmmagazine.com
India: Amazon expands its grocery service Amazon Fresh to Chandigarh
Amazon India has announced the extension of Amazon Fresh, its full basket grocery service, to Chandigarh. The Amazon Fresh app-in-app experience will offer a wide selection of over 3,000 grocery products including fruits, vegetables, chilled products, beauty, baby, personal care, and pet products among other daily grocery needs.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
JD.com: 4 robotic shops “ochama” have been launched in the Netherlands
During the 2022 World Retail Congress held in Italy, Pass Lei, general manager of ochama at JD.com, announced that since January of this year the company has launched 4 robotic shops in the Netherlands, located in Leiden, Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht.
Source: jdcorporateblog.com
Retail sales slide as UK consumer confidence sinks to record low
Growth in UK retail sales slowed last month as fears over the rising cost of living led to the sharpest drop in consumer confidence since the 2008 financial crisis, according to industry data. The British Retail Consortium said total sales rose by 3.1% in March compared with the same month a year earlier, significantly down on the 6.7% increase in February and 12-month average growth rate of 10.3%.
Source: theguardian.com
UK: Iceland online shopping selling veg for just 1p until Thursday
Supermarket Iceland has announced that it will be selling veg for just 1p for the next few days. It said all of its frozen and fresh vegetables normally priced at £1 or less will be on sale for just 1p. This isn’t the 1st time Iceland has done this - the supermarket dropped the prices of its vegetables to 1p last Christmas. There is ample choice for shoppers, with more than 40 vegetable products across fresh and frozen.
Source: walesonline.co.uk
Holland: Albert Heijn expands collaboration with delivery firms Thuisbezorgd.nl, Deliveroo
Dutch retailer Albert Heijn has expanded its collaboration with delivery firms Thuisbezorgd.nl and Deliveroo, with shoppers now able to choose from a range of 1,200 SKUs and avail of rapid delivery.
Source: esmmagazine.com
Lidl launches biodiversity standard for fruit and vegetable producers
Discounter Lidl has developed a new global standard with GLOBAL G.A.P. around increased biodiversity in the production of fruit and vegetables in Europe. The GLOBAL G.A.P. Add-On BioDiversity module is available to all players in the fruit and vegetable sector to complement the current GLOBAL G.A.P. standard for good agricultural practices, the retailer noted.
Source: esmmagazine.com
M&S food invests in delivering trusted value for its customers
M&S will be lowering prices within its Remarksable range. New everyday Re-Marks-able prices: Select Farms RSPCA Assured British Semi-Skimmed Milk 4 Pints 2.272L Now £1.15; Super Soft White Sliced Vitamin D enriched Bread 800g Now 60p; Select Farms 100% British Beef Mince 5% Fat 500g Now £3.00; Authentic air-dried Italian spaghetti 500g Now 70p; Responsibly sourced bananas Now 78p per kilo.
Source: corporate.marksandspencer.com
Wouter Kolk to join the LEAD Network Advisory Board
Both Ahold Delhaize and the LEAD Network are pleased to announce the appointment of Wouter Kolk - CEO Europe and Indonesia, and Member of the Management Board and Executive Committee of Ahold Delhaize - as a member of the LEAD Network’s Advisory Board.
Source: aholddelhaize.com
EU: Online sales efforts on the rise due to the pandemic
Eurostat data show how enterprises dealt with the constraints of COVID-19 control measures, with 12% of the EU enterprises reporting that during 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic prompted them to start or increase efforts to sell goods or services over the internet.
Source: ec.europa.eu
Publix named on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For list
For the 25th consecutive year, Publix has been recognized on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For list. Publix is 1 of only 4 companies to have made the list every year since its inception in 1998.
Source: businesswire.com
US: eMeals acquires RecipeBox app
Digital meal-planning and grocery shopping platform eMeals acquired RecipeBox, an app enabling consumers to save and organize online and offline recipes in a central location for easy access. eMeals will maintain RecipeBox as a separate brand with extensive enhancements designed to ramp up growth while using the app as a new promotional channel for retailers and food and beverage companies.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
US: Big Y Foods develops small-format store concept
Big Y Foods plans to build a new “downtown format” store in Springfield, Massachusetts, that’s expected to open next year. Called Big Y Express Fresh Market, the 10,000-square-foot store will occupy a vacant space on the ground floor of the 28-story Tower Square building at 1500 Main St. in downtown Springfield, Big Y said. The tower anchors a mixed-use complex including office, hotel, retail, dining, service, education and community space.
Source: supermarketnews.com
US: UFCW ratifies deal with Stater Bros. Markets
A new 3-year contract with Stater Bros. Markets has been ratified by Southern California grocery workers. Members of 6 United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) unions voted to accept the deal, which will give workers higher wages, protected pension provisions and stronger healthcare benefits.
Source: progressivegrocer.com
Canada: Sobeys launches Voilà online grocery delivery in Ottawa
Grocer Sobeys has expanded its Voilà online grocery delivery service to the Ottawa area. Stellarton, Nova Scotia-based Sobeys said that Ottawa residents can now order from thousands of grocery products, including items from the retailer’s Farm Boy store banner, and have them delivered to their homes within an hour. Customers access the Voilà by Sobeys service online at voila.ca or via the Voilà mobile app and choose their 1-hour delivery time window.
Source: supermarketnews.com
U.S. ports seeing brief slowdown from last year but imports remain high
The nation’s major retail container ports have begun to catch up with the backlog of cargo seen over the past several months, but could experience another surge this summer, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.
Source: nrf.com
Amazon: “Alexa, grow a tree”
Amazon customers can now use their voice to plant trees around the world. In celebration of Earth Month, Amazon is teaming up with One Tree Planted, an environmental charity that supports reforestation around the world. Customers in the U.S. with an Alexa-enabled device can now say “Alexa, grow a tree” to donate $1 to plant 1 tree through One Tree Planted.
Source: aboutamazon.com
Canada: Metro warehouse workers reach new deal
The Canadian Press reported: "Workers at a Metro distribution centre in Ontario have voted in favour of a new deal. More than 900 workers at Metro Inc.'s Toronto-area distribution centre ratified a new four-and-a-half-year collective agreement, ending a 1-week strike".
Source: canadiangrocer.com